TRAINING TUESDAYS: MEET JACQUELYN STEVENSON

Jacquelyn Stevenson, 28

Corporate Auditor Senior

Mountain Top, PA

Endurance Events completed: Steamtown Marathon, Nike Women’s Marathon, Chicago Marathon, New York City Marathon, Ojai 2 Ocean Marathon, Philadelphia Triathlon, SheRox Philadelphia, Steelman Triathlon, Tough Mudder 

What event(s) are you currently training for and what does that include?

My current training focal point is Pocono 70.3 – An inaugural half ironman through the Pocono Mountains which consists of a 1.2 mile swim, 56 mile bike, and 13.1 mile run. This will be my first half ironman! I am participating in this event with Team in Training which benefits the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society. In addition to training on my own during the week and with the TEAM on the weekends, I have several other races planned to help me prepare. In August I will be doing the Steelman Triathlon at Nockamixon State Park in PA. This is an Olympic distance triathlon. In September I will race in our nation’s capital at the Nations Triathlon, another Olympic distance triathlon.

What are your athletic goals for the year?

My athletic goal for the year is to finish Pocono 70.3 feeling strong and in the best shape of my life! I want to become stronger and faster at all three aspects of the triathlon. In addition, I want to work more strength training into my routine and focus on increasing my core strength. For me though it’s not just about helping myself, other athletic goals include becoming a better coach for Team in Training participants. I am currently a run coach for the Scranton/Wilkes Barre team and work throughout the season to help participants reach their goals of a half or full marathon. By learning more about running and sharing that knowledge with participants, we both can better achieve our goals!

What does your weekly workout out look like?

A weekly work out for me usually consists of 6 days of training and one day of rest. I generally aim for one day a week that I do a longer run of at least eight miles. The rest of the days generally contain a mix of swimming, biking, and running while trying to do two of those each day . Workouts vary and focus on trying to build speed through interval work or focus on endurance through building your base.

What do you think is the hardest part about training and doing an endurance event?

The hardest part of training for an endurance event is staying focused on the goal. It is easy to get sidetracked and miss a few workouts. You need to push yourself to stay on track and stick to your training plan. Another thing that I struggle with sometimes in training for a triathlon is focusing on areas where I need improvement. For example, I’ve completed 5 marathons in my life and more half marathons then I can count. I love to run. I’m good at it. This makes it fun for me and easy to focus on. However, when it comes to swimming, I’m still just learning and continuing to focus on my technique. I’ve gotten better but if I really just dedicated more time to it I could be even better than that! Yet, because I don’t enjoy it I often find myself making excuses not to swim. You need to leave your comfort zone and work hard to improve your weaknesses. This not only goes for training, but life as well.

What benefits/rewards do you get from competing?

Crossing the finish line on event day is one of the biggest rushes you will ever experience! The sense of pride and accomplishment overtakes your body and you cannot wait to sign up for another event. Looking great and feeling healthy is another huge benefit from all of the hard work you put in. Perhaps one of my favorite rewards though is being able to indulge in guilty pleasures without the guilt… Ice Cream!

What advice would you give someone looking to compete?

Do it! You will never look back after you cross the finish line and say you wish you hadn’t. Find a group to train with and meet new people. Having a support system makes training fun and will help with your questions as well. Don’t be intimidated by the distances. Start with something small and work your way up. If you want to start running, sign up for a 5K. Train and finish strong while then selecting a 10K or maybe a half marathon. You will be amazed how fast you are able to build those miles! You will be doing a marathon in no time! Keep challenging yourself a little bit each day and push a little harder. You will surprise yourself at just how much you can achieve! 

SPIRIT: WHAT YOUR FACEBOOK SAYS ABOUT YOU?

In today’s world of Tweets, Facebook statues, BBM updates and now Google+ it is hard to remember what life used to be like before we had so many outlets to share our emotions. I contend that these outlets are like therapy to those of us that just need to vent. It used to be a quick phone call to a friend or writing it down in a journal. Now, the world (yes the WHOLE WORLD) knows how we feel about everything; from our love lives to Chris Brown’s pants. The sense of community I feel while watching my favorite TV shows with my twitter friends is great however, there is also a dark side. The dark side is the negative unfiltered, emotional and impulsive stuff that come to our minds every moment of existing that we choose to share with the world.

I by no means am an “anti-social media” person I love it ALL! However, I am an anti-negativity person and what I realized (in my own life) is that negative thoughts shape reality. With the popularity of social media not only are our negative thoughts shaping our reality we are solidifying them in eternal cyberspace. I was probably the biggest offender of this for a very long time (and I still can be on occasion). It was something in me that wanted to let everyone know when I was pissed off, dealing with a liar, facing an untrustworthy friend (subliminal statuses), going through a breakup and the plethora of other negative human emotion that I experienced daily. Since showing is better then telling I thought I would share some negative content I have posted throughout the years:

"Guys who have tried to holla at most girls you know are the equivalent to a female jump off #nobueno"

 "Such a flurry of stress today between office stuff, site happenings, and THE most annoying text messages..."

"Really disappointed with someone in my life, if they can complete simple task that I asked for over 3 weeks ago how can college even be an option...really saddened"

"Ran 4 miles...car got a flat ran to the grocery store to get fix a flat but didn't work attempted to drive to the nearest Gas station to fill it and my GPS led me to a parking lot, then had to drive down to the tire place with a flat try to find parking."

"I think it takes some fake s$%t to realize some real s$%t."

"Hell yeah! ...Haters... if you've got no one to hate on feel free to hate on me!"

"Went to the boys got some answers. I was defn out of my f%&king mind! Thats why they call me single girl swag "Hands up cups up bottles up" The city is calling... ;-)"

"Is tired of people who want to be your best friend one min and spit in your face the next.....Now wonder people are in the situations they are in!!"

"You've been trying to avoid the drama, but it keeps following you everywhere. Look closely at the people in your life to see where it's coming from."

This is a good collection of what went on in my social media world. I remember at one point I even deleted my accounts to stop the insanity. I was definitely using it to cope. Not only did these statuses perpetuate the negativity that was already going on in my life, but it put an impression out there that I didn’t want people to have. If I had written it down before I typed it out it probably wouldn’t have been published the eternal book of cyberspace.

The point of sharing this with you is that we all do things in life that show us in an unfavorable light. We learn from these things and it makes us better. For some of us we grow up and stop the craziness, for some it takes a littler longer and unfortunately there are those that never change. Before you think about status updating on the crazy day you have had, sending the bitter subliminal tweet or complaining about something you will probably forget about in a day THINK. Write it down. Call a good friend. In my case I text it to my sister, let her laugh and tell me how inappropriate I am, and then move on. Trust me, I am no angel I still have my moments, but they are fewer and far between. Hopefully, reading this will make you think twice before you press send.  

FOOD: "TU-NO"

So several months ago I discovered this delicious recipe on The Sexy Vegan’s website (WATCH HIS VIDEO ITS HILARIOUS) . It looked simple enough and to be honest I watched it a few times before I made it because I didn’t know if it taste that good. However, to my surprise and pure delight this recipe is simple and DELICIOUS. Before you know it this sandwich will become a weekly staple on your lunch menu its more delicious then actual tuna! So here is my version of his sandwich treat: 

Ingredients: 

1 can of garbanzo beans (drained and rinsed)

1 celery stalk 

1 stalk of scallion 

Nori flakes

1 table spoon of Veganaise (original) 

¼ table spoon of salt 

¼ table spoon of pepper 

¼ table spoon of garlic powder 

First mash your garbanzo beans in a bowl, you don’t want them mushy just broken up. I usually use my avocado masher. 

Dice your celery stalk and scallion. Add both to your bowl of garbanzo beans. 

Add in your spices and Nori flakes. Finish this off with your Veganaise. Toast your favorite bread and Enjoy!

TRAINING TUESDAYS: MEET JAYSON PHILLIPS

Jayson J. Phillips, 30

Software Engineer/Mobile Engineer

New Jersey

Website: http://jaysonjphillips.com

Twitter: @_jjphillips

What event(s) are you currently training for and what does that include?

I am training for 3 rides: Bike the River Valley in July, The NYC Century Bike Tour and the Twin Lights NJ Century ride, both in September. Leisure in nature, these are three 100 mile events that will be challenging in altitude, elevation and terrain. I am also training for three endurance obstacle runs: Mud Run a 6.2 mile run for multiple sclerosis in August, Spartan Super Run 8 plus miles in September and Tough Mudder Tri-State 11 miles in November. These runs consist of obstacles (fire pits, live voltage from wires, etc.) and challenges designed with military influence to test strength, endurance and ability; and usually tons of mud!

What are your personal goals for this year?

I want to complete each event I sign up for, improve my performance each time, and challenge myself beyond my current abilities and step up to the plate. More importantly I want to have fun! I’ve partaken in many bad habits in my 20s. I’ve worked hard to stop and replace most of them with healthy alternatives. As I go along, I want to improve my health and fitness level. These challenges are difficult yet fun ways to do so, which makes them twice as rewarding.

What does your weekly workout out look like?

Right now, I average about 150 - 200 miles per week on my bike, about 7 hours in the gym (spin sprints/climbs, tabata Intervals, boot camp and weights/kettle bells). Since I’m running more now, I’m increasing my runs to 3-4 days per week. I tend to bicycle 4 days a week and gym 4 days a week. The one day I don’t train is Wednesdays. I need that mid week recovery day.

What do you think is the hardest part about training and doing an endurance event?

The hardest part about training is being consistent, especially when athletics is NOT your career. I work about 70-75 hours per week between my main role and side jobs/initiatives. Socializing, family, dating, school - there are MANY potential derailments. You must keep your eyes on the prize, sacrifice some things for your goals. Another thing that’s hard is knowing when to plateau. There’s definitely such thing as overtraining. It has many negative effects like easier susceptibility to injury, actually getting injured and reaching the point of diminishing returns (meaning the more you train, the less you improve and/or the more you actually decline). Listen to your body. Don’t be afraid to plateau. Build some muscle memory, conditioning versus moving on too fast and hurting yourself.

What benefits/rewards do you get from competing?

Health! I feel so much more alive and great physically when competing. It’s also a great form of stress relief. Accomplishment! There’s few greater feelings on Earth, to me, than pushing for a goal outside your comfort zone and getting it done. Camaraderie! Competition breeds friendships, encouragement and rivalries, all which form a positive sphere of challenge and success. You also have a group of folks who understand the training, pain, sacrifice and joy that comes with training, performing, winning, and just completing an event.

What advice would you give someone looking to compete?

DO IT NOW! You’ll get rid of a bad habit or three. You’ll accomplish something you might not have done. You’ll surprise yourself at what you can accomplish. First things first, find a sport that interests you. Give yourself 10 bonus points if you’ve never done it before. Next, watch it on TV, websites, etc and get excited. If you still want to do it, find a team or a training facility and sign up! Then set a couple of goals; short-term, mid-term, long-term. Don’t worry about sucking or anything. Trust me, my initial run times SUCKED. It’s all good. Only place to go from there is up. Lastly, make sure you have fun doing it!

SPIRIT: CAN WE REALLY CHANGE?

These days, I have gotten much smarter about life’s “Gut Checks.“ Instead of letting life check me I check myself. I take the proactive approach. Of course we are all going to deal with bad things in life but its how we react to them that shows our progress. There are people that are smart and are constantly making personality adjustments to be better, and then people who are not tell others “That’s just the way I am”. I am not going to lie I was a “That’s just the way I am” person for the better part of my life. I didn’t apologize for who I was and I pushed my personality on other’s expecting them to just accept. I am thankful that I changed. I could be BETTER, have better relationships and sustain a positive outlook on life. I want to share some of the areas of my life that I was deliberate about changing. I have grown tremendously, and that’s not to say that I still don’t have my moments (we all do) but, if we are more cognizant of changing everyday we will!

Anger: I was always ready for an argument. Don’t cut me off in traffic, don’t say my name, don’t get disrespectful, don’t do something I don’t like! That was me. Its funny looking back on it because I was always READY to engage in conflict. The change occurred when I went through the process to discover my purpose in life. I was reading tons of books, listening to tapes and constantly focused on the bigger picture of life. All the things that used to make me go off seemed so small and insignificant. Slowly but surely my angry moments seemed to happen less and less.

Complaining: I was complaining about the food, complaining about the weather, complaining about my job, complaining about being busy and the list goes on. We all do it. Complaining was so ingrained in me that when I initially tried to change, I complained about it. Well I am not perfect but I have made major strides. The way I was able to cut back on complaining was having an attitude of gratitude. I love this quote by Joyce Meyer, “If you complain you remain. If you praise you will be raised.“ In my thoughts I am always giving thanks, thinking about the things I am grateful for every morning. I try to carry this mindset throughout the day. It helps, because when things happen that I feel the urge to complain about I say to myself “Hey things could be much worse, and at least I have (fill in the blank).”

Gossiping: I don’t think I was ever the Gossip Queen, but I certainly did not turn away when someone had some juicy piece of information about someone I knew. I am still guilty on occasion, but I am much more aware of my actions. Now when I gossip I just feel wrong, and I ask myself “What type of conversations are other’s having about me like this?” or even better “who the heck am I to talk about her when I was dealing with the same situation last year.” Its really crazy when you start to put things in perspective, you will start to gossip less and reflect more.

Peace: I was a confirmed “worry wart.” My mother told me from a very early age that I would worry all the time. In addition to worrying I was always finding myself in little stressful situations that made me want to pull my hair out. Well after a few gut checks and a few early gray hairs I said enough is enough. To be honest what truly helped me achieve peace was periodically juice fasting. I had little energy to worry, I just wanted to be still. I used the extra time I had not eating to read books on enlightenment and being calm. I then began to understand all I can do in life is my best and after that its out of my control. With that mindset all paths lead to peace.

Self Control: I eat what I want, I do what I want, I go where I please, I buy what I want and I do whatever with whomever. That was me! And don’t try to tell me about myself unless you want your head bitten off. Well, times changed and I learned. The only thing lack of self control got me was drunk, fat, broke and heartbroken. Now if that was not enough of a reality check, then I don’t know what is. But really when you put things in perceptive the best things in life come with self control: degrees, weight loss, promotions, savings and long lasting relationships. Just think about the end result focus on it day and night and it gets easier every day.

Patience: Well I would be lying if I said that I had this one completely figured out. But in the spirit of celebrating progress I will share my growth. I happen to be a very type A personality: I am a leader, extremely driven and focused. However, the down side is I need everything NOW. I don’t understand others who move slowly, I don’t understand why things take so long and if I don’t get it now or within the foreseeable future I am bound to blow my lid. Well this type of mindset disrupts my peace. I had to learn how to wait and not COMPLAIN about the wait. The way I have become more patient is by understanding the act of being impatient is pointless. Being impatient only stresses you out and doesn’t bring about the happening any quicker. So instead of having 10 impatient moments a week I am now down to 2 or 3.

I do believe that we can change. However, change is deliberate. We have to make the effort every day in all areas of our personality to be better. Its like being on a personality diet, but the results are worth it!